Sometimes, I do not always get to my blog because life gets in the way. The last two days have been a prime example. On Tuesday April 26, Leah and I had to spend the night in a motel, because we had to have the main sewer drain in our house replaced. Our house was filled with concrete dust from breaking up the basement floor and removing the old pipe and replacing it with a new PVC pipe. We ended up calling Belfor to deep clean our house, which they have spent the last two days doing. On Wednesday April 27, Leah and I took our son, Christopher, and his daughter Alexis out to dinner to celebrate Christopher’s 40th birthday.
I hope the world is getting a better appreciation of the people of Ukraine and their willingness to make huge sacrifices during the Russian invasion of their country. Today’s story from the NY Times, is just another example of the will, strength, and patriotism of its citizens. Here is an excerpt from the story.
They pull up soggy linoleum from their floors, and fish potatoes and jars of pickles from submerged cellars. They hang out waterlogged rugs to dry in the pale spring sunshine. All around Demydiv, a village north of Kyiv, residents have been grappling with the aftermath of a severe flood, which under ordinary circumstances would have been yet another misfortune for a people under attack by Russia. This time, though, it was a tactical victory. The Ukrainians flooded the village intentionally, along with a vast expanse of fields and bogs around it, creating a quagmire that thwarted a Russian tank assault on Kyiv and bought the army precious time to prepare defenses.
The residents of Demydiv paid the price in the rivers of dank green floodwater that engulfed many of their homes. And they couldn’t be more pleased. “Everybody understands and nobody regrets it for a moment,” said Antonina Kostuchenko, a retiree, whose living room is now a musty space with waterlines a foot or so up the walls. “We saved Kyiv!” she said with pride.
Now that Miguel Cabrera has his 3000th hit and solidified his status as one of the elite hitters in the history baseball I want to put his accomplishments in perspective.
He is one of 20,038 who have played in Major League Baseball.
He is one of 53 with a career OPS of .918 or better
He is one of 33 with 3,000 hits in a career
He is one of 28 with 500 homeruns.
He is one of 18 with 1,800 RBI
He is one of 18 with 599 or more doubles.
He is one of 12 to win the triple crown.
He is one of seven with 3,000 hits and 500 homeruns
He is one of three with 3,000 hits, 500 homeruns and 599 or more doubles.
He is one of three with 3,000 hits, 500 homeruns and a lifetime batting average greater than 300.
He is the one and only player with 3,000 hits, 500 homeruns and also achieved the triple crown.
I am speculating that when he is eligible for election into the baseball Hall of Fame, he will be one of 18 who will appear on more than 95% of the ballots.
These ranking will only get better as Miggy is contracted to play through year 2023.
I loved the interview with former Lion QB Matthew Stafford while he sat in the TV both with Matt Sheppard and Craig Monroe during Saturday’s Tiger game. His answer about how baseball helped his football career was classic. His first response had nothing to do with the athletic skills required. It had to do with how baseball taught him to handle adversity. Understanding that succeeding only 3 out of 10 times is considered a success. Understanding that you are going to fail, and it is OK is what he learned most from baseball. It was only after talking about dealing with adversity that he mentioned the athletic skills of baseball that helped him in football. See my Video of the Day.
My good friend Dan Mausolf, a fellow basketball official and former green’s superintendent at Radrick Farms Golf Course, has notified me of a silent auction for MSU’s turf research program, which is one of the best in the world. The auction will run from now until May 8. There are many great golf courses in Michigan who have donated rounds to the auction. If you are interested in participating and playing on a course you may not normally play, this is your opportunity. I will keep this link on my blog until May 8.
https://app.galabid.com/teetimes4turf2022/items
Pray for peace and tolerance. What are you doing to stop the violence? Get vaccinated and get your booster.
Quote of the Day: “Go. Slow down. Don’t listen to me.” One of the guys in my foursome today telling his golf ball what to do while the ball was in the air during his approach shot on the 14th hole. I promised hiem it was going to be my quote of the day in my blog.
Orchid of the Day: My sister Nancy and my son Christopher who celebrated birthdays on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Onion of the Day: Kenneth Pilon, 61, a retired optometrist from Saginaw, was charged in U.S. District Court with intimidating BLM supporters by making threatening phone calls to nine Starbucks stores across the state and stating: “Tell the employees working there wearing Black Lives Matter shirts that the only good (N-word) is a dead (N-word).”
Questions of the Day: How would you react if you were a citizen of the Ukraine city of Demydiv and your home was deliberately flooded for the benefit of the country?Video of the Day; Matthew Stafford interview on the Bally Sports on Saturday April 23